Serious Privacy Concerns Over Meitu Selfie App

Serious Privacy Concerns Over Meitu Selfie App

The Meitu app asks for a plethora of information

A selfie editing app called Meitu is causing controversy due to its terms of use. The app has been well-known in China for some time, but has only recently become a success in the US. However, users of Meitu on Android have complained about the numerous forms of data that the app requests upon downloading it. Whilst it is necessary for the app to have access to a device's camera, it also requests access to users' exact location, Wi-Fi connection data, SIM information, and 'personal identifiers' which track your device when browsing the web. Meitu said that it works “closely with Apple and Google on every product release” and that it follows “privacy policies rigorously”. However, it has not yet responded to questions about why it requires all the user data it requests. Will Strafach, the president of Sudo Security Group, said that it was “good that a discussion had been started”, before encouraging people to “open more apps and see what they do”.